Homecoming
by Angel-of-the-oblivious
Summary: Sam's hasn't seen his old friends in nearly twenty years so when Nora invites him to a summer party he stopped by.  The chaos, surprises, and all things Venturi are sure to make it a night to never forget.


**So it's like 4:40 in the morning and I'm really tired and yet can't sleep so I'm posting this. This is the first LWD fic I've done and it's sort of Sam based. Um... I don't own life with Derek.**

**P.S. Imagine that after High School Sam and Derek didn't keep in touch and that he went to college in Texas and never came back or something like that ok? Ok.**

**P.S.S. Casey and Derek are 39, Lizzie and Edwin are 36, and Marti is 30**

* * *

><p>Sam hadn't been to this house in nearly twenty years and for some reason all of his memories of said house were full of screaming, pranks, and laughter. Apparently not much had changed in the past two decades.<p>

Pink, blue, green, and yellow streamers and balloons decorated the porch where two 'tweens' sat playing a game of cards. A sprinkler was set up off to the side of the house and Sam could see a group of kids ranging from age six to ten running through the spray while four 'teens' between the ages of thirteen and fifteen were playing soccer. All in all the party looked like a blast and Sam could only hope that he (and his shy son Conner) would still fit in among the chaos that was his second childhood home.

"Sammy!" a grown up Marti squealed as he entered the house (which was also decked out in brightly colored decorations). Sam smiled at the thirty year old dressed in a purple t-shirt and cut off jeans. Her dark brown/almost black hair was cut in a bob and a sparkly green headband held it away from her face.

"Marti is that you?" he asked although there was little to no doubt as to who she was. She was basically just a stretched out version of her six year old self. She rolled her eyes.

"Yes it's me," she said good naturedly as she stood to hug him. "I'm so glad Nora convinced you to come."

"Well we were in the area," Sam replied as he pulled away. Marti smiled and glanced over at the sandy haired fifteen year old at Sam's side.

"Hello," she greeted then turned back to Sam, "Oh my God Sam he looks _just like you_!" Sam laughed and nodded.

"Conner this is Marti Ven – wait, you aren't Venturi anymore are you?"

"Nope," she smiled, "I'm Marti Walters now, my husband John is in the basement with Edwin, Lizzie, and the older kids. DJ, Izzy and their friends are having a video game war I think."

"Who's winning," Sam asked immediately although he didn't recognize the names of the children mentioned. Marti smile widened.

"Izzy I would imagine." She replied, "Come on I'll introduce you to everyone that you don't already know." Sam smiled and clapped his hand on Conner's shoulder as he maneuvered him through the crowded house and back into the kitchen.

* * *

><p>"Hey everyone," Marti called as she pushed into the kitchen, "Look who's here." The group congregated in the kitchen, which consisted of George and Nora Venturi, Emily and Sheldon Shlepper, a red-headed woman and a blonde man Sam didn't recognize, and three toddlers. Nora gasped and dropped the dishtowel she had been holding.<p>

"Sam," she greeted as she pulled him into a hug, "I'm so glad you made it!"

"Thanks Mrs. V," Sam replied before pushing Conner forward, "This is my son, Conner, he's fifteen."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Conner," Nora said as she smiled at the mini-Sam. "My grandson Adam is your age, I think he's out playing soccer in the front yard if you want to join him."

"Go on Conner," Sam encouraged when he saw the excited glint in his son's eye at the sound of sports. Conner smiled and rushed off.

"So," Marti said as she shoved a blue plastic cup into Sam's hands. "You know Dad and Nora obviously, and Emily and Sheldon," Emily smiled brightly and Sheldon nodded in greeting, "And this is Julie and Kevin Williams, they're friends of mine from college. Guys, this is Sam Richards, he was Derek's best friend growing up."

"Nice to meet you," the red headed woman greeted before her attention was pulled to a three year old girl coloring on the floor, "Kayla," she groaned as she moved over to her. Kevin chuckled.

"Sorry about them, the tots are a bit of a handful." Sam shook the man's hands while Julie tried to separate her now fighting triplet girls.

"So how many of these kids are actually yours Mr and Mrs. V?" Sam asked as he glanced even more children (and some adults) outside in the back yard. Nora sighed but smiled, clearly thrilled at having a full home.

"Only seven," she paused, "And then our original five who still act like children most of the time."

"Hey," Marti protested but she smiled anyway.

"The rest of the kids are either the children of friends or our grandkid's friends." George added. "Some of Casey's, Derek's, Lizzie's, and Edwin's friends and their kids are here too. They make up a large portion of the hoard."

"Where is Casey and Derek?" Sam asked.

"I sent Derek to get some things from the store," Nora explained as she turned back to the cookies she was setting out on a baking sheet.

"And Casey said he would get the wrong brand or something and went with him." Emily added with a smile. Sam rolled his eyes.

"Do they still fight like they used to?"

"Yes," everyone said in unison. Sam chuckled.

"Guess I should've known."

"Yes, you should have," Sheldon replied but apparently Marti got bored because she grabbed Sam's arm and drug him to the basement door.

"Come on, Lizzie and Ed will want to see you, besides you want to meet Derek and Casey's kids right?"

"Um… yeah," Sam gazed at Marti in trepidation. She was just as big a monster as she was at six.

* * *

><p>"Who gave him the controller to that thing?" Marti snapped as she and Sam came down to the game room (basement) only to see her husband trying (and failing) to beat her teenage niece and nephew at a racing game. Lizzie laughed and pointed over at Edwin while simultaneously bouncing a two year old boy on her knee. Marti sighed and came forward to scoop her son (whom she had entrusted to her husband) from Lizzie.<p>

"John's a sore loser," a voice called from the couch drawing both Marti and Sam's attention to a blond woman watching the game with a smile. "I'm Megan by the way," she added when she spotted Sam. "I work with Lizzie and apparently this game is more interesting than introducing me to you so… HI."

"Hi I'm…"

"SAM!" Edwin shouted causing the rest of the room's occupants to jump and for the toddler on Marti's hip to cry. Marti leveled Edwin with a deadly glare before taking her son upstairs to calm him down.

"Hey Ed," Sam smiled and came to sit on a stool beside Lizzie and Edwin, "How's life?"

"I can't complain, beautiful wife, three amazing kids, good job. What about you?"

"I'm a teacher down in Texas, my wife couldn't come because she had to work, she's a nurse, and we have a son Conner who's outside playing soccer with some of the boys." Sam responded.

"Adam and McKenzie are playing soccer," Lizzie mentioned, "Those are our two oldest. Then there's Jami but she's seven and playing in the sprinkler."

"Wait," Sam paused and looked between Edwin and Lizzie, "You two are married?" The couple chuckled.

"We have been for the past sixteen years," Edwin replied before letting out a whoop of triumph as John lost once again to the two brunette teens on the couch. "Pay up," he said to his wife who dutifully handed over a twenty while rolling her eyes.

"You might as well give up John," Megan said as she stood, "Come on, I better go find my fiancé before he gets into trouble and you probably need to go and grovel at Marti's feet." John, a bulkily built man with shaggy light brown hair, sighed and followed, sending a small wave in Sam's direction.

"So I hear that…" Sam was once again cut off as a shout sounded from the couch.

"You're just a sore loser," a girl with long dark chestnut hair slicked back in a pony tail taunted. The boy beside her, who had wavy auburn hair cut short, shoved her lightly.

"Am not," he protested as the girl laughed. The other three teens in the room watched the interaction with little interest. It was nothing _new_ after all.

"You so are," a girl who had short platinum blonde hair and was pixie-ish in appearance added as she smiled at the boy.

"Hey, you're supposed to be on my side, you're my girlfriend!" the boy, who looked eerily like Derek, said in outrage. The blonde, brunette (who was an copy of Casey save for the dark brown eyes), and the other girl in the room this one with long black hair and bright green eyes all laughed while the raven haired boy with ice blue eyes rolled his eyes.

"But she's my best friend," the Casey look-alike countered, "So HAH!"

"DJ, Izzy stop fighting." Lizzie said half-heartedly.

"We aren't _fighting_," the pair said together before looking at each other, blinking, and turning back to their aunt.

"Just play your game," Lizzie sighed. The girl smiled and turned back to the boy, continuing the argument from before.

"Let me guess," Sam said as he watched the familiar sounding argument, "Casey and Derek part two."

"What gave it away," Edwin wondered aloud, "Was it the uncanny resemblance or the bickering?"

"Both," Sam replied with a smile. "Family gatherings must be Hell."

"It's never boring," Lizzie deadpanned, "Between our three, those two, and Marti's three it's pretty chaotic and of course since _they're_ the oldest… well you remember what our house was like when we were kids." Sam chuckled and wondered how Casey and Derek reacted to their children's behavior. It seemed like some sort of cosmic retribution.

* * *

><p>Sometime later the small group (which had grown to include Marti, John, Kevin, Julie, and their toddlers) heard the garage door open above their heads.<p>

"Derek and Casey are back," John noted as he sipped from his beer, Marti planted firmly in his lap.

"Which means that in 5…" Marti began.

"4" Lizzie and Edwin continued.

"3" Kevin muttered.

"2" Julie piped up with a smile.

"1" the Derek and Casey clones finished just as a familiar 'Der-_ek_' was heard from upstairs. Sam laughed.

"What do you think it was this time?" Julie asked the group at large. Everyone just shrugged.

"Who knows," Edwin replied. "It's Derek and Casey, when do they ever need a reason to fight?"

"When they don't fight is when you need to worry," the Casey copy added as she slipped by the adults to grab a soda from the mini-fridge. "Believe me on that one."

"Sort of like you and DJ?" the raven haired teen, who Sam was told was named Janie, teased with a smirk as she took a can from the fridge as well. Izzy rolled her chocolate brown eyes at her friend.

"Me and DJ _don't_ fight," she protested. "Why do you guys always say that? It's creepy when we all know what 'fighting' means in this family."

"No," Janie agreed but the mischievous look in her emerald eyes made the adults (and Izzy who knew her friend far too well) uneasy. "You fight with Ian."

"_Janie_!" the raven haired boy growled while Izzy glared. Sam looked between the three and then at the smirking adults in the room and wondered what exactly he was missing. The blonde pixie (whose name was ironically Fae) snickered while DJ looked disgusted.

"I'm going upstairs to see if mom needs any help," Izzy said after a moment of tense silence. She glanced fleetingly over at Ian who was still glaring at his younger sister before dashing back upstairs.

"Um… what just happened?" Sam asked.

"It's a long story," Lizzie responded, "Come on, Derek and Casey will want to see you."

* * *

><p>"<em>Daaaad<em>," Sam heard Izzy groan as he topped the stairs. He perked up, he had been wondering who Casey's husband was after all, but stopped short when he saw _Derek_ holding a chocolate chip cookie up above Izzy's head smirking at her as she jumped to reach it. "It's mine."

"What's the magic word?" Derek taunted the irritated seventeen year old. Izzy stopped and smirked _Derek's_ smirk up at him. Derek's amused look fell from his face as he recognized the look the teenage girl was giving him.

"MOM," she called out into the living room. Derek glared down at her. "DAD'S BEING A KID AGAIN!" Her smirk grew and she shot her father a look of triumph. Derek narrowed his eyes at her and shook his head.

"DER_-EK_!" Casey called in exasperation from the other room. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY DAUGHTER?"

"I'M NOT DOING ANYTHING," Derek called back as he continued to glare at Izzy, "AND SHE'S MY DAUGHTER TOO!"

"HE TOOK MY COOKIE AND WON'T GIVE IT BACK!" Izzy added unhelpfully.

"You're evil," Derek hissed, knowing what was coming before Casey even called –

"DEREK, GIVE IZZY HER COOKIE BACK, THERE ARE MORE IN HERE IF YOU WANT ONE _THAT_ BADLY!"

"YES DEAR," Derek called back as he rolled his eyes. Reluctantly he gave Izzy her cookie. "You are and evil little monster."

"I learned from the best," Izzy smiled innocently at Derek as she munched on her gooey cookie. Derek chuckled and pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head.

"That's right; after all you are _my_ evil little monster." Derek nodded.

"I'm not so little anymore Dad," Izzy replied as she pushed away from the hug. "Oh and by the way, I beat your high score on Babe Raider VI earlier;" and with that she disappeared out into the living room where her mother, grandparents, and other adults were.

"That," Sam said with wide eyes, "Was scary." Derek spun and his eyes too widened as he took in his old friend.

"Sam?" he asked stunned. Sam nodded which seemed to break Derek out of his stupor for he smiled brightly and pulled the other man into a (manly) hug.

"Hey bro," Sam responded, "So um… you and Casey huh?" Derek blinked several times as if he didn't understand the question but then it clicked and he rolled his eyes.

"Yeah." He admitted although he smiled. "Don't know what I was thinking."

"And apparently you created a monster," Sam recalled DJ downstairs and amended his statement, "Or two actually."

"Oh Izzy?" Derek's smile grew at the mention of his daughter, "Well she's quite a bit like Case with just enough of me thrown in to even out the Spaceyness. She's perfect."

"And DJ?" Sam noticed that Lizzie was suddenly missing and wondered when she had slipped away. Probably sometime during the cookie war.

"Just like Derek, just not as much of a player. He and Fae have been dating since sophomore year." A new voice sounded and both men turned to face Casey as she came into the kitchen, one eyebrow raised as she observed her husband. "_Spaceyness_?" she asked, "Do you need to sleep on the couch tonight?" Derek cringed much to Sam and Casey's amusement.

"You know I like your Spaceyness." Derek protested as he pulled her into his arms and kissed her temple affectionately. Sam shook his head.

"Hey Casey," he greeted to which Casey smiled.

"Hi Sam! I didn't know you were coming." She elbowed Derek like it was all his fault.

"Hey, I didn't know either." He countered as he poked Casey in the ribs. It was unbelievable, they were thirty nine years old and the parents of two teenage kids (who Sam now realized were _twins_ and not just the same age) and yet they still acted like they were fifteen years old.

"Whatever," Casey rolled her eyes. "So Sam how's…" she was abruptly cut off as three soaking wet kids ran through the kitchen. She watched them go, debated on chasing after them, and then decided to let their parents deal with it. _Her_ kids weren't the ones running through the house (yet).

"This is a bit wild," Sam said with a smile, "I was downstairs earlier and your kids started to bicker just like you two used to." Derek and Casey exchanged a look, "Then their friends made some comment that Izzy denied and then her friends said that she didn't fight with DJ but with Ian. What was up with that?"

"Oh… that." Derek chuckled and Casey smiled. "After Case and I got together it became a running joke that our fights were always just flirting…"

"Which they were," Casey added.

"So anytime someone says that Izzy and DJ fight they get all grossed out. The part about Ian is the fact that he and Izzy _do_ fight like Case and I. It's a good thing that I've known the kid since he was in diapers and like him or I would have some serious issues."

"Dad has problems with all of Izzy's boyfriends," DJ commented as he appeared at the tail end of the conversation, "By the way, where is my oh-so-wonderful sister?"

"She's in the living room," Casey told her son who nodded but made no move to leave just yet.

"Yeah, so Dad hates all of Izzy's boyfriends but he likes Ian so therefore he mostly approves. _I _on the other hand have some serious problems with my best friend dating my twin sister."

"You're dating Izzy's best friend and have been for a year and a half." Casey pointed out with a glare. DJ shrugged.

"Don't care, Ian's too good for Iz," he smirked and left the room in search for said sister.

"Yeah, just like Derek." Sam muttered.

* * *

><p>"UGH," Izzy groaned as she leaned back against the trunk of the tree in her grandparent's back yard. "I really wish DJ would at least wait until we've left the room before making out with Fae."<p>

"I agree," Ian leaned against the tree beside her, "Try being his best friend and hearing about…"

"Fae's my best friend remember?" she interrupted, "And it's so much worse for me, he's _my_ brother. It isn't like Janie's boyfriend tells you all about their sex life."

"Janie's a virgin," Ian responded immediately, choosing to pretend like his sister didn't have a love life to know about. Izzy rolled her eyes.

"Hate to break it to you Ian but I think the only girl in our class come graduation that _was_ still a virgin was me." She admitted with a shake of her head.

"Seriously," Ian looked at her curiously. She nodded. "But you and Caleb dated for over a year."

"Um Ian…" Izzy smirked at him, "Caleb's gay. The only reason we 'dated' was so that he didn't have to tell his parents. We didn't even kiss, not really anyway."

"Okaayyy," Ian shook his head. "Well why did you go along with it?" Izzy froze and looked up at the sky, ignoring the question. "Iz?"

"I don't want to talk about it." She mumbled. Ian smirked and stepped in front of her.

"What, you gay too?" he taunted. Izzy's eyes snapped to meet his and she glared.

"No," she growled, hating the way he could get under her skin so easily, and the fact that he knew it. Ian's smirk grew.

"Then why?"

"I liked someone else but I didn't want anyone to know," she admitted, blushing slightly. Ian raised one eyebrow and tried to ignore the jealousy he felt at her admission.

"Who," he asked, hating the fact that he sounded irritated. Fortunately Izzy didn't seem to notice and her blush deepened. "Come on Iz, I'll tell you who I like if you tell me." He honestly didn't have any intention of really telling her this but… Izzy's eyes flickered to his once more and he saw the curiosity brimming in the chocolate orbs. He knew he had won.

"'tknowhowtotellyousoIjustdidn't." she said all in one breath. Ian just blinked.

"What." Izzy growled in frustration and pushed him away from her harshly.

"I said I like you okay!" she snapped as she turned away from him. Ian just stood there dumbly for a moment before reaching for her arm, spinning her toward him, and slamming his lips against hers. After a few moments Ian pulled away from a breathless Izzy and smiled down at her.

"I like you too, have for a long time." He brushed her hair from her face and pinned her body between the tree and his own. Izzy smiled.

"How long it a long time?" she asked quietly. Ian rolled his eyes.

"Since we were six." He admitted, "Pathetic I know but…" he shrugged.

"I win," she countered as he slid her arms around his neck, "I've liked you since we were five." Ian raised his eyebrow.

"Then why are we just now doing this?" Izzy shrugged and leaned forward to peck his lips.

"Because we're idiots?" she suggested with a smile. Ian sighed in agreement before ducking his head back down to kiss her again.

"Wait," Izzy whisper shouted as she pulled away. Ian groaned and dropped his head to her shoulder she giggled, "What does this make us?" Ian pulled away and looked at her incredulously.

"Really," he asked, "I just told you I've been in love with you since we were six years old and you're worried about a label?"

"You love me?" Ian froze and stared at the girl in his arms in horror. He hadn't meant to tell her that. Izzy read the expression on his face correctly and rolled her eyes. "I love you too idiot, thought that was obvious with the whole '_dated a gay guy so I wouldn't have to date anyone else for a whole year_' thing."

"Yeah, guess that was sort of implied." Ian smiled brightly at her. "So, Izabelle Amelia Venturi, will you be my girlfriend to have and to torture DJ with for the long foreseeable future?" Izzy laughed.

"I, Izabelle Amelia Venturi, daughter of Derek and Casey Venturi, do hear-by swear to love Ian Thomas Dwight for the long foreseeable future and to torture my brother." Izzy replied, twisting the old vow that she, Fae, Janie, DJ, and Ian had all used for their _club_ in the first grade. This time Ian was the one to chuckle.

"Perfect," he whispered against her lips before kissing her deeply once more.

* * *

><p>It was long after the party was over and the only people left that weren't immediate family were Sam, Conner (who became fast friends with Adam), Ian, Janie, and Fae. He was helping Derek clean up in the kitchen when he caught sight of something interesting outside.<p>

"Hey D," he called as he smirked. "When did you and Case get together?"

"Sophomore year at college," Derek paused and glanced over his shoulder at his friend. "Why?"

"And did Ed have a pool on that?" Derek stopped what he was doing completely and turned to face Sam.

"Yeah…"

"Well does he have a pool on Ian and Izzy?" Sam wondered. Derek snorted.

"Yeah, has since they hit puberty. It's pretty big by now." Sam nodded, unsurprised.

"Who bet what?" Derek looked suspicious so Sam waved his questions off with a addition of, "I might want in." Derek shook his head.

"Ed bet it would be before Jr. prom, Lizzie bet Sr. prom so he wouldn't feel bad, Dad bet by graduation, Nora bet by Izzy and DJ's eighteenth birthday, Casey and I bet their sophomore year in college just because, and Marti bet this summer. The kids have their own but I don't know what the bets are." Sam just nodded to himself before turning back to the sink.

"Well, Marti won."

* * *

><p><strong>Alright so I realized that it might be a bit confusing to match all of the kids to the parents so...<strong>

**Casey&Derek - Izzy (18) and DJ (18) (Derek Jr.)**

**Lizzie&Edwin - Adam (15), McKenzie (13), and Jami (7)**

**Marti&John - Taylor (7), Alexis (5), Caleb (2)**

**Sam - Conner (15)**

**Then there's Ian (18) his sister Janie who is also 18 but they're not twins just born nine months apart, Fae (18)**

**Okay so... there ya go. Hope you like it.**


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